Hydrofluoroether compounds (HFEs) comprise a class of commercially valuable chemical compounds. In a number of applications, hydrofluoroethers have been found to be useful as replacements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are currently disfavored and regulated due to the adverse effects that CFCs are believed to have on the environment. Unlike CFCs, hydrofluoroether compounds that contain fluorine as the only halogen have essentially no effect on the earth's ozone layer. Such hydrofluoroether compounds are thus said to exhibit an “ozone depletion potential” of zero. In addition, such HFEs are typically more easily degraded within the earth's atmosphere, which results in a low global warming potential.
The term hydrofluoroether, as used in the art, commonly refers to those ethers having partial substitution of hydrogen atoms by fluorine atoms. Some hydrofluoroethers are commercially available. Examples include those hydrofluoroethers available under the trade designations 3M NOVEC ENGINEERED FLUID 7000, 7100, 7200, 7300, 7500, and 7600 from 3M Company of Saint Paul, Minn. Hydrofluoroethers have been used in applications such as cleaning solvents, deposition solvents, battery electrolyte solvents, and heat transfer media. The uses of hydrofluoroethers can be limited by their thermal stability.